NHL Commissioner
Gary Bettman praised the health of the league’s current franchises and provided details on how expansion might occur, if pursued, during a press briefing before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in Tampa on Wednesday night.
Addressing questions about both the Arizona Coyotes and the Florida Panthers directly, Bettman dismissed any claims that either team finds itself in dire straits or under consideration for relocation.
 |
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
|
Bettman also spoke directly on the Las Vegas marketplace, where hopeful owner
Bill Foley announced earlier in the day that he had obtained more than 11,500 season-ticket deposits in addition to 735 suite seats.
“Assuming that number is accurate — I have no reason to doubt that — it looks like his drive has had some degree of success, to say the least,” Bettman said.
During the NHL’s planned board of governors meeting June 24 in Las Vegas, Bettman will provide updates on the cities that have expressed interest in having an NHL franchise. If the board chooses to pursue any of those options, the next step would be to open a formal expansion process. Bettman noted that the board may choose not to pursue the process, and he said an expression of interest does not guarantee expansion.
Las Vegas, Seattle and Quebec City are the cities that are likely to be discussed.
■ PENGUINS DIP TOE: The Pittsburgh Penguins announced right before the puck dropped for Game 1 that the team had engaged Morgan Stanley to oversee a review of their strategic options. The team is led by a partnership of Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, who control upward of 90 percent of the club, in addition to a number of minority share owners.
“We conduct periodic reviews of our business and, because we have received several inquiries about the franchise in recent years, we decided to engage Morgan Stanley for their insight and counsel,” said Lemieux and Burkle said in a joint statement. “After buying the team out of bankruptcy, ensuring its long-term future in Pittsburgh and creating a strong foundation for continued success, we believe it is time to explore our options.”
When the team entered bankruptcy proceedings in 1998, Lemieux was owed $32 million in deferred pay from his Penguins playing career, a sum that was converted into equity in the team during the acquisition by Lemieux, Burkle and their partners.
The Penguins are open to a number of opportunities, including bringing in a new majority owner, having a larger minority share partner or making no sale at all, according to a source. Lemieux said in the statement that he plans on staying involved with the team and that “Ron and I plan to retain an ownership stake.”
The team declined to comment further until the process is complete. No deadline or timetable was outlined for when that would be.
■ GO NORTH, PLAYERS: The NHL’s preseason player media tour will be moved from New York City to Toronto this year, as the league will look to incorporate announcements related to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Scheduled for Sept. 7-9, it is also expected that the league will formally announce corporate sponsors for the tournament during that preseason tour. Discussions with potential partners are ongoing and include both NHL sponsors as well as companies not now aligned with the league.
The World Cup is scheduled for Sept. 17-Oct. 1, 2016.
■ PICK-POLICY TALK: A new NHL policy that allows a team to seek draft-pick compensation when its contracted employees are hired by other teams as a head coach, general manager or president of hockey operations has operated in a bit of a gray area in its first offseason of enactment this year, as compensation can be sought even for employees who have been previously fired by their former organizations.
The policy was approved by the board of governors at their June meeting last year and took effect Jan. 1. The issue came to fore during the Edmonton Oilers’ pursuit and eventual hiring of former Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. Even though Chiarelli was fired at the end of the 2014-15 season, his hiring still cost the Oilers a second-round pick in a future draft. Other teams have publicly stated that they find the rule unclear.
While Bettman acknowledged the new policy didn’t fulfill the intent of being “straightforward and simple,” no change will be made to the policy for at least one year, at which point the policy would then be re-evaluated. Bettman said that even if a change were to be made at that point, there would not be a reversal of any previously awarded draft picks.
 |
A booth at Amalie Arena allows fans to create their own GIFs to share on social media.
Photo by: IAN THOMAS / STAFF
|
Deputy Commissioner
Bill Daly said that due to the way that the policy was written, there is no way a coach or general manager’s contract could be written to skirt the compensation.
■ SEEN AND HEARD: Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik addressed the team’s staff in a morning meeting before Game 1, acknowledging the hard work of the employees over the course of the playoffs. Vinik watched the game in his suite at Amalie Arena alongside his family, as is his custom. … The Lightning featured a “GIF booth” on the concourse level of Amalie Arena as a social media engagement opportunity for fans for their first two games of the series. Through a partnership with Tampa-based Premier Photo Booths, the booth gives fans a chance to take multiple pictures and then allows them to select overlays for images such as player-goal celebrations. The booth then animates the photos, to create moving images the fans can share on social media. … Bettman, during his press conference, noted that the league has not had any discussions with the NHL Players’ Association regarding future Olympic participation. The status of NHL players appearing at the 2018 Olympics is being monitored very closely given the plans for the World Cup of Hockey next year. One of the league’s main criticisms with past Winter Olympic participation is the lack of any significant boost in revenue or interest following the conclusion of the Games, which shut the league down for upward of two weeks. With the World Cup of Hockey, the revenue will be split 50/50 by the NHL and the NHLPA, and the event will be played on a schedule that is created by those parties so as not to create issues with the regular season. … While final calculations are still to come, Bettman said the preliminary salary cap calculations for 2015-16 have put the number “somewhere over $71 [million].” That compares to $69 million for this season and $64.3 million for 2013-14.
